India's Sweetheart

For over a decade and through three generations the Swift, whether by design or accident, has thrilled the enthusiast – including the editor. He recalls his experiences of buying one, rallying one, driving across the country in one and now living with the latest gen

- Sirish Chandran

I BOUGHT A SWIFT. MY PEERS IN OTHER magazines bought Swifts. And that tells you everything you need to know about the Swift. When a journalist puts his money where his mouth is, that’s the ultimate recommendation, and back in the day the Swift really was a game changer. In these days of TSI Polos and Boosterjet Balenos this might sound silly but, in 2005, if you wanted a fun-to-drive hatch the only option was the Zen, which I had already been driving for the past five years. Oh, there was the Getz that had just been launched but neither the styling, nor the motor, dynamics or even pricing made us smile. Nope, there really was nothing like the Swift and soon after it was launched I went out and booked one.

You’re the fuel

I still remember the first media drive of the Swift. It was a period of great turmoil at Overdrive, the magazine I started my career at. There was a new editor, I had just been promoted to second in command, and it was our first media drive in our new big-boy shoes. Those were also the days when Manesar wasn’t the bustling industrial hub that it is today and our drive was restricted to the deserted roads of the industrial complex. It’s hard to imagine wrapping up a shoot before breakfast what with photo, video, social media and what not these days but back then the Maruti PR people were so paranoid about the Swift being papped (by competition I’m guessing cause there were no car blogs), they made us wrap up our drive, testing, photography, everything by 7 in the morning. But that drive was enough to convince me to buy it.